Calling name and number delivery, otherwise known as caller ID, is a service provided by local exchange carriers which allow called customer premises equipment (e.g., a telephone) to receive and indicate a calling party's directory number and the date and time of the call during the ringing cycle. Various products have been introduced to expand the application of the calling number delivery service (caller ID).
Existing products have been developed which display caller ID information on a personal computer screen. These products are designed to take advantage of the personal computer's inherent ability to receive digital information and display this information the personal computer's monitor. However, these existing products do not process caller ID information into a video format (such as NTSC) which is ready for display. Instead, these personal computer dependent products simply serve as format converters translating the caller ID information into ASCII format. The products then rely on the personal computer itself to generate the appropriate signals and timing information required for video display. Two particular products are MHE's Classmate 10 and Rochell Communications' Caller ID Plus.
MHE's Classmate 10 converts caller ID information into ASCII format for transmission via an RS232 port. The device passes ASCII information to personal computers, printers, or any device capable of receiving and processing ASCII information. The receiving device is then responsible for processing the ASCII information into the appropriate video/hard-copy display format. Rochell Communications' product, known as the Caller ID Plus, receives and processes caller ID information for input via an IBM compatible computer's serial interface port. This product utilizes the personal computer's internal circuitry to process the caller ID information into a signal for video display. The product also includes database software which permits users to associate caller ID information with other database files (e.g., customer account information).
Such personal computer-based caller ID products, in combination with compatible software packages, are intended to give the business personal computer users, e.g., direct access to their own account database files, triggered by receipt of incoming caller ID signal information. For the general "non-business" consumer, this application has highly limited appeal, and usefulness.
Japanese Patent Document 1-91560 discloses an incoming display system in a telephone set. A circuit is provided which detects an incoming telephone call, outputs a video signal band frequency, relating to the incoming telephone call, and sends the video signal band frequency to a television receiver. The television receiver blanks the television screen or displays characters, to indicate the presence of an incoming call on the telephone line. The system is used to inform people watching the television of the presence or arrival of an incoming call. The system disclosed by the Japanese patent document does not provide caller identifying information and/or voice messaging information on the screen of a television set, and also does not provide such information from a "call waiting" format, i.e., from a third party call when a telephone is already in use. Other known systems are capable of inputting telephone numbers to be called onto a television monitor via a remote control input system.